GRIZZLY BEAR TRAGEDY.

      Some of you may have heard of the Grizzly bear attack that killed two people in Alberta. Other people have asked about it. People know that my city is Red Deer. The site of the attack was described as the Red Deer River Valley. 

     The attack site was west of Sundre , AB which is about 50 km from me. To be more precise the attack took place in the area of the Ya Ha Tinda ranch which is used to keep the horses for Banff National park. Ya Ha Tinda is 2 hr and 20 min from where I live. 

     The head waters of the Red Deer river begin in that area where several small streams join. . The river continues east across Alberta for 724 km before joining the South Saskatchewan River .

    When you hike in the Rocky mountains grizzly bear evidence is very obvious. The bears dig up great chunks of soil looking roots to feed on. Sometimes you find several acres that have been rooted up. When we would get to these areas we would make as much noise as possible as the idea is that the bear doesn't  want to see you and will run away. I have never seen a grizzly bear in the wild even though we've gone by some very recent diggings.

    I have never hiked in this area as there are many other areas that have easier access. These photos are from the Abraham Lake area. 

You can se the road along the lake so you get an idea of altitude. 

   The two people who  were killed were very experienced hikers. They were well prepared for bears. It's very sad that they likely did all the right things but were still killed.